Superman Movies in Order

Our favorite alien goes by many names; Superman, Clark Kent, Man of Steel and Kal – El. Whichever name you associate him with, the person remains the same. Superhuman, super-strong, super-fast, super-powerful and last but not the least – Super-handsome. With Supergirl coming to an end, Kryptonians will be missed. But worry not! We have listed down all the Superman movies so you can follow Supergirl’s cousin – Superman’s journey from the start. We are sure that nostalgia will pull you right in before you know it. Then there is no stopping you from calling in sick at work to watch Superman fight his enemies.

1. Superman (aka Superman: The Movie)

2. Superman II

3. Superman III

4. Superman IV: The Quest for Peace

5. Superman Returns

6. Man of Steel

7. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

1. Superman (aka Superman: The Movie)

Surviving the destruction of the planet Krypton, his father, Jor-El, sent the young Kal-El to live among the humans on Earth. Under the paternity of Jonathan and Martha Kent, Clark Kent (Kal –El) learns that he was born with extraordinary powers and abilities unimaginable on Earth. Clark, now lives in Metropolis, takes a job as a reporter for the Daily Planet. He soon finds himself falling in love with his fellow reporter Lois Lane. But then an accident occurs forcing Clarke to use his powers to help humanity. And just like that he becomes Superman, whom the people of Metropolis start calling out for help.

Superman’s success was unacceptable to Lex Luthor – criminal genius, who unleashes a sinister plan to attract the spotlight to him by discharging two missiles in different parts of the country with only Superman to compete with him. Will Superman stop the missiles? Or will Luther’s plan succeed destroying the country?

This movie stars Christopher Reeve as Superman, Margot Kidder as Lois Lane and Gene Hackman as Lex Luther.

IMDb rating: 7.4/10
Release date: December 15, 1978
Runtime: 2 hours 23 minutes

2. Superman II

Superman is in love with Lois Lane and wants to start a relationship with her. To do that, he must sacrifice all his powers which he is willing to do without knowing that three Kryptonian criminals have escaped from the Phantom Zone and are headed towards Earth to establish their rule. As if that was not enough, Lex Luther has escaped from his prison cell and plans on joining hands with the three criminals to defeat Superman. Will Superman take down the criminals and Lex? Will Lois accept him for who he is?

IMDb rating: 6.8/10
Release date: June 19, 1981
Runtime: 2 hours 7 minutes

3. Superman III

Superman has no match when it comes to combat and powers but this time his fight isn’t with another but himself. To take down Superman, his enemy has hired Gus Gorman – a genius computer programmer. Gus uses Tar to beat Superman but the chemical ends up splitting Superman in two; good and bad. Although the film had a whopping budget of $39 million, it proved to be unsuccessful than the first two Superman films, keeping in perspective the financial and critical aspect. The prominent criticism revolved around the film’s comedic and campy tone, as well as the performance and casting of Pryor, Christopher Reeve’s performance and special effects as Superman were widely appreciated.

IMDb rating: 5.0/10
Release date: June 17, 1983
Runtime: 2 hours 5 minutes

4. Superman IV: The Quest for Peace

Lex Luther uses Superman’s DNA to create a Nuclear Man, which gains his energy from Sun like Superman, to kill the man himself. He plans to take down Superman and be a free man to control the world as he pleases. Will he be successful in his plan? Before the production of film, the film’s producer, The Cannon Group, underwent major financial issues that emphasized major budget cuts, and additionally 40 minutes of footage were exempted after negative test screenings. Upon release, it was widely criticized by critics and fans, with many reviewers commenting on poor special effects, inconsistent patterns, and plot holes. Superman IV has often been identified as one of the worst films ever made. No further Superman films were released until Superman Returns in 2006.

IMDb rating: 3.7/10
Release date: July 24, 1987
Runtime: 1 hours 30 minutes

5. Superman Returns

After spending five years in Krypton, Superman returns to Earth only to find that the society has learned to survive without him and his super powers. He feels like he is no longer needed nor welcomed. To add to the distress, Superman’s love interest Lois Lane looks like she has moved on with her life. But has she? Is everything what it appears to be? What threats are hiding in the corner this time?

This movie stars Brandon Routh as Clark Kent, Kevin Spacey as Lex Luther and Kate Bosworth as Lois Lane.

IMDb rating: 6.1/10
Release date: June 30, 2006
Runtime: 2 hours 34 minutes

6. Man of Steel

This time under the Warner Bros. Superman story starts from the beginning. Superman arrives to the Earth only to realize how different he is from everyone. But he soon learns to cope with the feeling but all that is disrupted when other survivors arrive from his home planet Krypton but not with good intentions.

This movie is was made after Marvel acquired the Superman franchise. In this Warner Bros. movie, Russell Cavill is stared as Clark Kent (Superman) and Amy Adams as Lois Lane.

IMDb rating: 7.1/10

Release date: June 14, 2013

Runtime: 2 hours 23 minutes

7. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

Batman thinks that the actions of Superman has gone unaccounted for a long time so he takes justice in his own hands. Meanwhile, Lex is busy plotting plans to take down a vulnerable Superman.